What can you do to slow down the progression of knee osteoarthritis? It’s a surprisingly easy thing to do, and research fully backs it up.
Osteoarthritis happens when cartilage in the joints gradually breaks down, and once that damage occurs, it can’t be reversed.
Maybe one day a team of scientists will discover a way to grow back the lost cartilage, but for now, that breakthrough seems many generations into the future.
In the meantime, most treatments focus on managing the pain. In more severe cases, joint replacement surgery becomes the main option.
Managing Pain Without Drugs or Surgery
New research says that changing the way you walk can reduce the pain in your knees.
A clinical trial involving researchers from the University of Utah, New York University, and Stanford University tested whether small adjustments in walking style could reduce knee pain and slow joint damage.
Published in The Lancet Rheumatology, the study focused on people with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis, especially in the inner (medial) part of the knee, which tends to bear the most load during walking.
The key idea was simple but unusual: shifting the angle of the foot while walking might reduce stress on the knee joint.
Instead of giving everyone the same walking instruction, researchers customized the change for each participant.
Some people benefited more from slightly turning their toes inward, while others did better with a slight outward turn. The difference of just a few degrees turned out to make big differences.
The researchers also identified that not everyone responds the same way.
In some cases, the wrong adjustment could fail to reduce knee stress or even increase it.
Because of this variability, personalization was central to the approach.
How the Study Was Carried Out
The trial included 68 participants. Half received the real gait retraining intervention, while the other half received a placebo-like “sham” version.
Both groups went through six weekly training sessions using treadmill walking and vibration feedback on the shin to help reinforce their assigned foot angle.
After training, participants practiced the new walking pattern daily for about 20 minutes so it would become more natural over time.
At follow-up visits, most participants were able to maintain their prescribed foot angle very consistently.
After one year, people in the real intervention group reported significantly less knee pain — levels comparable to relief seen with common pain medications like ibuprofen.
MRI scans also suggested slower cartilage deterioration in the intervention group compared with the placebo group, pointing to a possible disease-modifying effect, not just symptom relief.
One of the major findings was that knee loading changes depend heavily on individual movement patterns. A foot angle that helps one person may not help another.
Previous studies often applied the same walking change to everyone, which may explain why results were inconsistent.
In this trial, researchers first tested multiple angle options using motion capture and only enrolled participants who actually showed improvement from at least one adjustment. That helped isolate who could benefit most from the intervention.
Training the New Movement Pattern
During the training phase, participants received real-time feedback through vibration devices that helped them maintain the correct foot angle.
Over time, the new walking style became automatic for most participants.
Researchers noted that adherence was high even after the structured training period ended.
One of the more striking aspects of the findings is that this approach doesn’t rely on medication, injections or surgery. It also doesn’t require wearing a brace all day.
Not Ready Yet for Routine Clinical Application
Despite the promising results, the researchers stress that this is not something people should try on their own.
A random change in foot angle could actually worsen knee stress depending on the individual.
The benefit only appeared when the adjustment was carefully measured and personalized.
The study also notes that current methods require specialized equipment and expertise, so it’s not yet ready for routine clinical use.
Future work is exploring ways to make the technique more accessible through physical therapy tools, wearable sensors and simpler tracking systems.
